Author: Brian Turrel

by Brian Turrel

Sporting Kansas City let a stoppage time goal slip by, undoing 90 minutes of high-quality play and settling for a 1-1 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night.

Sporting nearly overcame the 51st minute loss of striker Krisztian Nemeth, who was sent off for a dangerous tackle. Instead Sporting extended its winless streak to seven games.

Head coach Peter Vermes praised his team after the match.

“I think our team played excellent tonight,” Vermes said. “We worked hard. We gave nothing away.”

Nemeth was responsible for the team’s only goal, which came in the 37th minute. Johnny Russell found some open ground on the right side and bounced a shot off Vancouver goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau. The rebound fell to Nemeth, who decoyed defender Doneil Henry and then slipped the ball into the open net.

After Nemeth’s disqualification, Sporting continued to selectively press its attack while parrying Vancouver’s possession advantage. They picked up some offensive momentum from Yohan Croizet, who came on in the 81st minute.

However, in the last minute of stoppage time, as the crowd prepared to celebrate a victory, Vancouver’s Ali Adnan slipped a pass to left winger Derek Cornelius directly in front of the goal for an equalizer.

Sporting KC will play next at home at 5 p.m. Sunday, May 26, against the Seattle Sounders.

by Brian Turrel

Sporting Kansas City’s injury-stricken line-up continued to struggle, dropping Friday night’s home game against Atlanta United 3-0.

Unable to field a full roster for the game, head coach Peter Vermes went to his reserves in key positions in the back and midfield.

Sporting had a couple high-quality chances early. Graham Zusi’s shot curled just wide in the 2nd minute, and Krisztian Nemeth missed a header wide in the 12th minute off a corner kick.

Atlanta controlled the half after that point, directing a barrage of shots against Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia, and finally breaking through in the 39th minute on a rebound goal by Josef Martinez.

Atlanta padded its lead just after the halftime break, getting a goal from Ezequiel Barco in the 47th minute off a failed clearance.

The visitors were mostly content to slow the pace after their second goal, but seized a final opportunity in the 76th minute for another goal by Martinez for the final margin.

Sporting desperately missed Ilie Sanchez’s ability to maintain possession in the middle third of the field, and coach Peter Vermes brought him into the game in the 65th minute.

Sanchez has been nursing a calf injury, and Vermes admitted after the game, “I shouldn’t have even played him tonight. He didn’t train all week. He didn’t train one day. But, you know, we needed something else to give us a little push forward.”

Adding to the team’s offensive struggles, the timing between the team’s midfield and forwards was noticeably off, resulting in several forward passes rolling harmlessly out of bounds or getting picked off by defenders.

The loss ended Kansas City’s 10-game streak without a home loss. Sporting KC will play against D.C. United on the road on May 12, and then return home for a game against Vancouver on May 18.